Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
~The GoGos

After the events of the Nakatomi Plaza and the teams sudden deficit of members Catherine herself called and outright ordered the team on vacation. She wouldn't hear any objections and as Hornet well knew when she pushed for something she got it.

So Hornet, Shock, and Dragonfyre found themselves on the beaches of Hawaii in Oahu scenic and beautiful. Hornet laying about on the beach with Karen at his side both fully lathered in sunscreen and soaking up the rays. Shock catching some waves on a paddle board, and Tony making the local ladies squeal with glee as he lets the dragon show a bit with a glass sand castle.

All told beautiful weather which had Elena complaining good naturedly about not being able to join but wishing you well all the same.

For the last four days of a two week stay paid for in a top flight hotel the three of you have lived it up, and surprisingly you haven't had a lick of trouble at all. Shock put one crime to rest by just examining the scene and pointing out to the local authorities the actual perp. Hornet fixed a cars electrical system with a couple quick fixes, and Dragonfyre broke a local credit card scam targeting tourists with a laptop.

beyond that though the days have been idyllic and filled with leisure.

the only sign of any trouble at all comes well into the fifth day where after breakfast a rumble is felt throughout the island chain. Over the last week one of the dormant volcanos long thought dead, has been smoking and showing signs of life. Geologist were puzzled but no one gave it much thought given that Hawaii is an active region and the activity was low level.

its at this moment when finishing their morning repast that the team is shaken by a rumble of the ground shaking and then a visual right out their windows that cant be missed. the volcano is now in full eruption, lava and smoke pouring from the caldera and down the sides into the ocean creating a visual spectacle. There are reports of damage in the area from the earthquake and possible injuries as the authorities urge everyone to stay close to home and await further instructions.

--ooOoo--

On the mountain side Thomas Flynn known in some circles as the Magus Errant and in others as less flattering and more curse inducing words searched the volcanos side easily avoiding lava floes and not bothered at all by the heat. He was here following up on an investigation at the request of a friend he'd made some time after arriving here.

A fellow mage named Kris Majax.

Kris had been hot on the trail of a monster named Black Anubis, a man empowered by the darkest of magics with the powers of an ancient god. He might be unfamiliar with this world in many ways but somethings were universal and the ancient Egyptians no matter what universe had magic powers you just plain didn't mess with. The Amenti aka mummies were a prime example of that and he'd run into a couple of those on this world as well. they were not to be underestimated.

So he found himself following a trail of resurrected corpses, ancient curses, and at least one Scion of Sobek, the powerful Crocodile Mage and he battling to an near fatal conclusion. Now on these beautiful tropical isles he has sensed his foe and followed his works to this ancient volcano, but more then some mere dormant rock, a ley line nexus and link to the elemental planes of fire and earth.

circumventing the wards around the place has proven tricky but not impossible however it has delayed him and he feels that whatever dark magic being woven within is reaching its climax. the fact the volcano erupted while he was investigating was proof enough of that. At this time he finds a cave with an oddly specific message on it.

Keep out.

the cave itself looks to have been sealed by magic that's not broken and a large rock used as a door now shattered to dust. the scent of death and ancient magic reeks all over the place.

It would seem the vampire he interrogated for information was on point. he'd have to find out what's inside.

--ooOoo--

For Photon the last months have been a whirlwind of action. the Viper War, several super villains in need of a beat down, and at least one moron that thought messing with an alien suit of power armor from a crashed ship was a good idea. he'd helped fight them all and more and more felt like the hero he was told he was meant to be. He'd seen the footage of guys like the Protectors fighting the good fight especially their now famous last stand against the viper army that marched on the California capital armed with one of the most brutal villains ever Ripper. The battle has quickly gone viral on youtube and other social media platforms and remains a favorite for top 10 superhero battles on Hero Network.

Still it doesn't diminish his own contributions as stopping a viper satellite network armed with orbital lasers is a pretty darned impressive feat even if no one was there with a camera phone to record it.

Now though he's got an interesting new job. Elena the Protectors admin and public face approached him with a temporary Job offer. The Protectors it seemed were short handed and on a much needed vacation. He had been asked to fill in and gotten a recommendation from a friend, a Blue Lantern named Ashley who had put in a personal appearance at the Protectors base and after a reunion with the staff endorsed him to them.

And that was it he was hired as a temp replacement and asked to patrol the city. he'd already stopped a couple robberies, and at least one supervillain -- the speedster Dart.

Now here he was above the city skyline holding up a crane that had been shaken when an earthquake rolled through the region. the construction crews were working like mad to get the crane stabilized and now they had the time to do sot hanks to him.

"Photon how you holding up?" Elena's voice broke in through the new commlink earpiece he'd been given.

--ooOoo--

Elsewhere Valerie Bright worked her way through the local community she frequented. these under dwellers lived beneath the marvelous city above them in tunnels that used to be ruled by beings known as Trolls until a group of heroes had driven them out. Her arrival here some time ago had allowed her to make a home of these tunnels and along with the enormous green giant Gator, and the smaller Gretchen become a sort of odd family protecting the under dwellers as if they were her own subjects. Why they chose to live down here she couldn't say as her own understanding of this worlds culture was limited. Still they had made that choice and now she strove to protect them as she could and to provide for them as they needed.

Gator made this easier as did Gretchen. the Man reptiles monstrous strength scaring off any would be raiders, and the small skittish Goblins cunning and intellect enabling them to build a helpful infrastructure allowing the community to thrive. Now though she was busy investigating a problem.

Members of the community had been vanishing, and worse at least one had been found as a corpse. But what made this truly terrifying was that the corpse had been animated as a shamble and had attempted to prey on her and the others.

Princess Valvalla Leota Shard aka Prism couldn't allow thatand had quickly returned the corpse to the dirt as ashes. but the encounter had shaken her, and now with the earthquake shaking their community she knew soon she must leave the tunnels and return to the surface to seek help because some dark force was at work down here, and whether it was related to the darkness that had taken her homeworld or not she couldn't say.

But she would bring light to it none the less.

Reconstructing the start well advance quickly here

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Something was stirring. That much was clear. Something sinister had found that poor man, and not only slain him, but then twisted what remained into a monsterous puppet. She found it disturbing to say the least, and she felt it was a safe bet that the others that had gone missing had suffered a similar fate. Then there were the earthquakes and she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe to two events were connected. If so, then something was indeed stirring on the horizon, something big.
She had shared her experience with the unfortunate corpse with Gator and Gretchen after she had laid the creature to rest. They would be on the look out for more such creatures should another try to claim prey among the under dwellers, while she investigated and tried to find the missing people and brought the Light to those responsible.

Unfortnately, as is usually the case with the Darkness, the facts were hidden. She needed information, some clue as to what was causing this events. She could not fight what she could not find. If the tremors had been felt above ground, maybe someone on the surface might have more information, but first she felt the need to search the tunnels one last time for any clues or sign of those who have disappeared, or their abducters.

Having discarded her human disguise, Prism stalkes the tunnels, with her Light shining bright into all corners, daring those responsible to come and face her as she searched.

Down in those tunnels Prism floats through them searching fro the darkness but hasn't had any luck. Whatever dark force has been down here has either left of laid low. with the exception of the smaller animal down here nothing else has moved into the tunnels from the sewer network above that she can see. As she passes the former Viper base that has been coopted by little Gretchen, the odd goblin like creature with a knack for technology she sees that the base seems to have weathered the quake well.

Frustration nagged at Prism as her search turned up nothing use. For there had ever been a trail to follow it was long cold. She was a warrior, not a tracker and it seemed she would get no where just wandering the tunnels. There was little more to do in that regards then just keeping one's ear to the ground.

In the meantime, she might as will check on Gretchen to see how her friend had endured in the tremors. His lair, which from her understanding was originally build by some kind of discordance group, seemed to have weathered quite well. This was encouraging.

"Gretchen?" she called out as she entered his domain, "Quite the upheaval. How have you fared little one?"

In amongst the clatter and chaos of the little goblins lair, Prism finds an array of junk strewed everywhere in what any person who don't know Gretchen would presume a bomb had gone off. And they wouldn't be incorrect part of the time. Still Prism searches and calls out Gretchens name and is rewarded a moment later when with a clang and clatter of assorted junk Gretchen crawls out of a pile clutching a bit of worn tech in his green fingers. he looks up startled to see her and cringes back defensively a moment but then recognizes her and grins that wide sharp toothed grin of his.

"Gretchen is fine..." he pauses and frowns before pointing at the piles of junk

"Earthquake messed up Gretchen's filing system, is mess now, Gretchen cant find anything." he moans shaking his head before shuffling over to a table where he hops up onto a stool and begins to tinker with the part he pulled from the wreckage.

"Others is ok? Gretchen sees the shaking." he points to wall of monitors most of which are still functioning that over look the caverns where the small group of people live.

On one Prism sees the Alligator pit where Gator and his "family" live. the movement of large reptilian bodies tells her that the large reptilian is ok. On another though she sees a man floating through the sewer tunnels heading towards the living area where everyone is cleaning up from the quake.

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Colin is floating in the sky, patiently holding up the crane while the workers complete the repairs. He likes doing things like this; some of his teammates on the Rangers didn't want to do anything except fight supervillains. It was like pulling teeth to get them to help with disasters; things as mundane as this were impossible.

The beep and voice causes him to jump a bit, causing the crane to move. All of the workers turn and look at him as he re-steadies himself.

"Sorry."

He carefully shifts the crane onto his left shoulder as he carefully reaches down to his belt to the small pocket where he held his communicator. His hand reaches into an empty pocket and stops. He grimaces and tries to reach across to his other small pocket where he usually keeps his team ID card. As he does, the crane starts to slip off his shoulder, and he quickly has to adjust to keep the crane from plummeting to the ground.

Colin looks back to the workers who are all staring at him again. One of them rolls his eyes.

"Sorry."

The communicator chirps again. "Photon?"

Right, right. The ear thing.

He reaches up and presses the link as Elena instructed when she first gave it to him.

Hi, Elena. Everything is good. Be a little while longer for them to finish repairs on the crane. When will lunch be ready?"

She laughs that pleasant laugh and replies easily "Jean PHillipe says he has a wonderful Jambalaya prepared soon as you're back."

Below him the workers finish the last of the repairs stabilizing the Cranes base and give him a thumbs up and a wave letting him know he can safely let go of his burden.

"By the by can you check the Troll tunnels for me?, I haven't heard from Gretchen and the little guys usually punctual about reporting the state of the people down there. I want to make sure the people living down there haven't been too adversely affected by the quake."

Colin goes through a mental checklist of the files Elena gave him. He had asked for as many mission reports as she was willing to provide before taking this gig.

Not that anything in the files would have changed his answer. The Protectors had done more than their fair share recently, and if anyone deserved a vacation, it was them. Filling in for them was the least he could do.

But reading through past mission reports was a bit SOP for him now. He lost count (17) of the number of times he saved Version 2 of the Rangers because he had important information that was buried in those mission reports.

And Elena's were far better organized.

"Roger. Gretchen. Tunnels. I'm on it."

With a streak of light, Colin is off towards the tunnels and the old Viper base down there.

Floating through the tunnels Colin can see that the new construction methods used in Bay Cities Rebuilding have paid off, the concrete has absorded the shockwaves and distributed its force along a wider area so no serious damage has been done to the foundations. While Buildings are designed to sway and ride the tectonic waves.

Deeper in he finds some rubble from the actual stone but it to has held up with not too much visible damage. The coordinates for the old Viper base are not too far ahead now and he can see lights coming from modular structure as it comes into view.

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Normally Kirk would have put up a lot more resistance about taking a vacation but given his recent health troubles from over using the Hornet armor the scientist surprised his teammates and friends by not putting up any arguing about taking break. Not that he didn't try to bring some work with him, but Karen made sure to have an inspection on his packed bags that ended up with several blueprints and schematics taken out and left behind at the lab in the Protectors' base.

Once in Hawaii, Karen made sure to keep Kirk busy with visits to all of the tourist attractions that were offered and trips to the beach. Not surprisingly he put up no resistance to the attractive young woman's efforts.

Kirk sighs. "Guess this means the vacation is over." He says as he reaches into the cooler he was keeping nearby; Dr. Hank had worked up a custom diet to help Kirk kick the last effects of the fatigue he'd had from the overuse of the Hornet armor and Kirk had been following it almost religiously, plus the cooler was a good spot to store his armor, which he'd figured out a way to shrink it down to action-figure size for easy travel. "How do we want to handle this?" The tiny hero asked after suiting up.

Shock

I guess that depends on whether you think it's a coincidence this is happening while we're here." Chris paused to get the expected reaction. "Yeah, me neither."

"I'd say you get in touch with the scientists, I'll coordinate with the authorities and Tony gets a closer look at the volcano."

"I guess that depends on whether you think it's a coincidence this is happening while we're here." Chris paused to get the expected reaction.

"Sure it is! Just like kids who sit in the house all day playing video games and eating junk food all day happen to be REALLY pudgy and out of shape."

"Yeah, me neither."
"Yeah, me either."

"I'd say you get in touch with the scientists, I'll coordinate with the authorities and Tony gets a closer look at the volcano."
"Sounds good. I'll get in touch once I know something more." Hornet looks over to Karen. "You get to back to the hotel and stay safe."

"Volcano it is boss!" tony snorts as he enters the room leaving a whiff of sulfur in the air. "Ill give it a quick once over and report back soon."

A line of scales flares across his body as he smirks then runs towards the open balcony where he leaps skyward falls out of sight only mere seconds later to rise up like a flaming rocket with a roar that rattles the windows as he veers off and heads towards the volcano. The elemental nature of the islands had been whispering to the dragon in him all week since his arrival and hed been spellbound by the devils brew he'd seen on their helecoptor tour of the big island and its active volcano. the fire and lava bespoke to something primal in his dragons nature.

He soared on the winds crossing the islands quickly above the expanses of water beneath him and soon found himself circling the caldera which theyd flown over less then a day or so ago. the caldera was now alive and filled with roiling and bubbling magma and fire and smoke where merely a day before it had been nothing but solid rock and plant life.

its as he circles above that something catches his eye. A man near a cave entrance not wearing the protective gear that the geologists studying the phenomena were wearing. The man is checking a cave entrance and appears to be about to enter it just as he stands up tony loses sight of him when the man shimmers and then disappears from sight.

Shock

Jealous of Kirk's ability to keep his armor (and thus costume) on hand, Chris raced up to his room and was changed in seconds. He got on the comm to get the location of the nearest police station from Elena and rushed over. There wasn't much he could do on his own for disaster relief but he wanted to authorities to know the Protectors were in the area and already moving. That took a few minutes. Then he was on the move again, back to the shore, to get a look at how the eruption was progressing.

Within moments Shock is bouncing across Roof tops and covering distance at a rapid pace before sliding to a stop at the nearest station of the Honolulu Police Department. He startles a couple of officers but one of them recognizes him and hes quickly ushered to their Command center where he's greeted by local 5.0 commander Steve Mcgarrett. The commander quickly briefs him on the disaster relief efforts mostly minor medical aid and some clean up, its getting people out of the way of the lava flow and keeping security and preventing looters that's taking up most of their resources right now.

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

One could still smell a hint of salt in the ocean air, past the heat and sulfur of the eruption. Damn and double Damn!, Thomas Flynn thought as he approached the cave entrance. My own fault. I keep relying on old shortcuts. He regarded the remains of the capstone and wards that had protected. Still, no welcoming committee. That's to the good. There is time yet. With a gesture, the Magus Errant's form becomes dimmer and indistinct, as he moves carefully into the cave.

Just as Thomas was about to enter the cave, a great shadow passed over the area, drawing his gaze upward. "Hm. A dragon.", he whispered to himself. "Majax mentioned a dragon...but damned if I can remember what he said." As he watched, the dragon began to wheel back around toward the cave mouth. "Well, good, bad, or indifferent, he saw the cave and will be here shortly." Taking two quick steps into the cave, out of the dragon's line of sight, Thomas conjures an obsidian plaque, reading "Anubis", onto the cave floor. He then pushes himself into the left-hand wall. Let's see if he'll tell which side he's on....

Slipping easily into the caves wall he can feel the odd sensation of the stone sliding through his ethereal form he sees the Dragon like form slam into the ground with a burst of flame and smoke. The dragon shaped like a man begins to sniff around and starts to move closer to the caves entrance as he does.

Up close Thomas can clearly see the Dragon lineage in the young man leaving a vague thought as to which parent was the dragon in the relationship. Dragon born were rare for many reasons, but they always shaped the destiny of any world they lived on.

And were officially caught up

So Tonys sniffing about trying to find the man he saw

Thomas is observing

Shock is determing which efforts to aid

and Hornet is consulting with scientists about the Volcanos sudden awakening

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Hornet arrives at the place where local Geologists and Seismologists have set up their camp. He also startles them with his sudden appearance, but they recover quickly and after a brief discussion bring him up to speed. he finds that they have several teams planting Seismograph beacons at various locations around the now active volcano.

So far though they're stumped, the volcano was basically dormant and for all intents extinct, even for Hawaii, which is a volcanically active this one shouldn't have erupted ever.

For the moment any help calibrating their equipment would be welcome.

that's an absurdly easy tech check for hornet no need to rol .

However if you do roll a DC 25 would net some info.

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Actually touching down upon the Volcano stirred the fires that were as much a part of Tony as the his scales were. The intoxicating hit and threat of flame was like a hit of adrenaline to the Dragonborn. For a second, his eyes dilating and his body shuddering, Tony basks in the primal energy just below his talons. Then something else pushes through his senses, the scent of man.

Turning his head back an forth, trying to track the scent. At that point, his head dipped and he spies a patch of obsidian on the cave floor. It was inscribed with Anubis. A frown plays across his draconic face. Raising his head back up, Tony grumbles as he takes another deep breath, "This ain't Egypt and YOU don't belong here..." reaching back along his jawline, Tony triggers a customized comm unit," Guys, Egyptian god on Hawaiian vacation....got a plaque with Anubis in a cave that I spotted a man vanish into..." Another shudder ripples across Dragonfyre's form, " Volcano is SERIOUSLY pulling on me...Might not be natural." Tony waits a few breaths for replies.

"Blessings of the Light. It gladdens me to see you are well my friend." Prism declared as she took in the chaos, "The others are relatively unharmed, though shaken by the event. There is some cleaning up to be done." she reported as she scanned the array of screens.

She was not surprised to see that Gator was ok. She was sure it would take the whole tunnel system dropping on his head to do the large reptillian any lasting damage.

She paused at the sight of an unidentified figure approaching on the monitors."You have a visitor." she said with an edge in her voice, as the crystals in her body began to glow and light flared in her hands.

kenseido wrote:"HELLO! GRETCHEN! Elena of the Protectors sent me to check up on you."

while she had never met them, Prism had heard of the Protectors, brave and powerful warriors who had helped Gretchen in the past. She relaxed alittle, and the light in her palms faded.

"Light's graces to you. We are well." she called back floating towards the visitor.

Hornet arrives at the place where local Geologists and Seismologists have set up their camp. He also startles them with his sudden appearance, but they recover quickly and after a brief discussion bring him up to speed. he finds that they have several teams planting Seismograph beacons at various locations around the now active volcano.

So far though they're stumped, the volcano was basically dormant and for all intents extinct, even for Hawaii, which is a volcanically active this one shouldn't have erupted ever.

For the moment any help calibrating their equipment would be welcome.

Sometimes being the same size as the equipment gave you a unique perspective on how it works, something Hornet has made great use of himself in the past. So at this point it was second nature for him to stay shrunk down and go to work fine tuning the seismologist's gear. After solidifying a couple of wire connections, tweaking a capacitor, and reinforcing a resistor the machine was working as if it was brand new.

Chris sighed. The eruption was barely underway and already people were trying to take shameful advantage. "All right. Let's put most of your men on getting people to safety. That's got to be our priority. I'll stop a couple of looters and you put the word out that I'm taking it into my hands and that should discourage most of the rest." It was something he could do fast and probably while on the way somewhere he could do some real good.

Mcgarrett checks the radio and hands Shock an address. 'We've got a call for back up from officers on the scene looks like a full scale brawl broke out between rival gangs over a piece of turf which the quake aggravated If you want to make yourself useful there it is."

A small bit of easy street sweeping for shock, and a hero point in the offering for any daring do along the way.

got a dozen rioters all mooks all armed with assorted knives and firearms you go first upon engagement

Hornet

Getting the systems up and running was child's play for Kirk, and with it being Oracle based tech its made even easier thanks to the techs design intent which was ease of repair and maintenance. He gets a bonus though when with all twelve sensors on line they're able to start mapping the volcanos activity as they were intended.

But its a peculiar pattern that pops up that catches his eye. while not a geologist he's seen enough seismographic information to know when vibrations are making a natural or manufactured pattern. And this volcano is doing just that, there's a pattern coming from within the mountain that could only be man made.

never one to waste a nat 20 you find some shenangians in the volcano itself. said shenanigans are tech based by the by what tech at this time you cant tell.

Let Tony and Thomas converse as desired before we advance

Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

Getting the systems up and running was child's play for Kirk, and with it being Oracle based tech its made even easier thanks to the techs design intent which was ease of repair and maintenance. He gets a bonus though when with all twelve sensors on line they're able to start mapping the volcanos activity as they were intended.

But its a peculiar pattern that pops up that catches his eye. while not a geologist he's seen enough seismographic information to know when vibrations are making a natural or manufactured pattern. And this volcano is doing just that, there's a pattern coming from within the mountain that could only be man made.

Hornet doesn't hesitate to question the experts standing right next to him. "Is there way to tell where the pattern starts?"